


distance makes the heart

by bonnieanonnie



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Drabble, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, lapslock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 17:54:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20411911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonnieanonnie/pseuds/bonnieanonnie
Summary: things always got harder this time of year.





	distance makes the heart

**Author's Note:**

> this is based on this [tweet](https://twitter.com/jeonghannieya/status/1166022159489257472?s=19)  

> 
> eternally grateful to my darling dearest [whiteshores](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whiteshores/pseuds/whiteshores) for betaing

jeonghan’s a bit early, so when he sits down at his table he takes a few minutes to look at himself in the camera app on his phone, fixing his hair, smoothing out his t-shirt, and making sure the pimple on his cheek isn’t visible. seungcheol wouldn’t care about any of those things, he knew, but he still wanted to look his best. they hadn’t been able to go on their weekly date last week, which meant jeonghan’s fingers were itching with excitement for this one.

they still spoke almost every day, but it wasn’t the same, which was why their dates were so important. this week they’d decided on a pasta place, the decor inside surprisingly elegant for a chain restaurant, and while he waits for the time to strike 19:00 he wonders if maybe he should have dressed up a little, just to make it more special.

the minutes pass, albeit slowly, but when the numbers on his screen show 18:59, he hurries to plug in his earphones and setting up the camera on a little stand on the other side of the table. he's definitely going to be getting some strange looks from other patrons, but at this point he was used to it. a few judgy looks from random people could never scare him away from date night with seungcheol.

he's got everything ready, finger hovering over the call button, determined to be first this time, when his screen is taken over by an incoming call. he frowns and glances up at the corner of his screen, it was still only 18:59. seungcheol was cheating.

he answers the call, despite seungcheol's blatant breaking of the rules.

"you dirty cheater!" is the first thing he whines into his mic, face a stern display of disapproval.

"sorry, jeonghannie," seungcheol is making his voice cute on purpose, and jeonghan isn't proud of it, but he falls for it immediately."i couldn't help it, i missed you too much."

jeonghan sniffs, in too much of a good mood to hold a grudge, he'd just have to call even earlier next time."just don't do it again."

“you look lovely,” seungcheol compliments, just like he always does. jeonghan grins down at the screen, preening at the attention from his boyfriend, striking a few silly poses to show off his yellow t-shirt and new bucket hat.

seungcheol doesn’t look too bad himself, and with the way his phone is placed on the table, jeonghan gets a generous view of his biceps.

“you look lovely, too,” he says, leaning forward on the table to study seungcheol’s pixelated form closely.”have you been working out?”

the question makes seungcheol laugh, the sound high pitched and embarrassed. jeonghan curses the dull lighting in the restaurant for making sure he doesn’t get to see the way seungcheol’s ears surely go red at jeonghan’s shameless ogling.  


“i’ve added a few extra sessions,” seungcheol’s still wearing his shy grin, gums on full display as he talks.”been hitting the gym before bed.”

jeonghan purses his lips, displeased by seungcheol’s words. going to the gym before bed was an often used tactic when his boyfriend hoped to tire himself out, and seungcheol needing to tire himself out only meant one thing: he had trouble sleeping.

“you need to take care of yourself.” he scolds lightly, picking up the menu in front of him to avoid looking at seungcheol.

“going to the gym is good for me.”

“not if it costs you your sleep.”

a heavy sigh sounds in jeonghan’s ears, and his gut twists with guilt. this was their only date this week, their only chance to pretend they were together, and now jeonghan had to go and ruin the mood by being naggy.  


“please, baby, can we--”

“no,” jeonghan snaps, dropping the menu back down onto the table to look at seungcheol through the screen.”don’t ‘ _ please, baby _ ’ me. this is about your health.”

“you know how i get this time of year.” seungcheol’s eyes are sad when he says it, and it only serves to amplify jeonghan’s guilt. their anniversary was coming up, and jeonghan couldn’t deny the distance between them was getting even more difficult to bear.

this was their second year apart, and jeonghan had to say that it only seemed to get harder with every passing day. he missed seungcheol constantly. longed for his embrace at night, his bad breath in the morning, two weeks ago he’d even cried a little over how much he missed seungcheol leaving his sweaty workout clothes on their bathroom floor. he knew that if he was finding it difficult, seungcheol must be even worse off. sappy and romantic as he was, seungcheol always got extra emotional around their anniversary and birthdays. it was sweet, jeonghan had to admit, but it didn’t sit well with him that seungcheol let his mood get in the way of taking care of himself.  


he looks at seungcheol on his phone screen, notes the bags under his eyes and the tense line of his shoulders. if seungcheol was there with him, he would have taken his hand, pressed a kiss to his cheek, and told him he loved him. he laces his fingers together under the table.

when seungcheol first got his job offer abroad, jeonghan had tried to go with him, had desperately searched for a master’s program somewhere close to where his boyfriend’s new job would take him, but ultimately money had gotten in the way. seungcheol had proposed that he stayed put and took a job in the city they both lived in, waiting for jeonghan to finish his degree, but jeonghan had quickly shut that down. giving up dreams and opportunities for your significant other was a seed of resentment ready to grow, and he never wanted to get in the way of seungcheol’s future.

so that’s why they’re here, halfway through their second year of the long distance thing, on a date in a generic chain restaurant because looking at the same wallpaper and picking from the same menu lets them pretend they’re closer than they are.  


“i know,” jeonghan finally concedes, voice small.”i’m sorry for nagging.”

“don’t be sorry, angel,” seungcheol makes sure to reassure him, even though jeonghan’s not sure he deserves it.”you’re just looking out for me, right?”

“it’s my job.” a smile spreads on jeonghan’s cheeks without him noticing it.

“and you do it so well.” seungcheol’s smile is fond, and for a few seconds they stare at each other through their screens, sharing a tender moment. seungcheol is eventually the one who breaks it by picking up his menu.

“so what are we feeling today, hannie?”

seungcheol's change of subject effectively starts their date, and they spend the next two hours eating and chatting lightly. jeonghan tells seungcheol of the things he's learning during his research, eagerly recounting the praise his supervisor had showered him with during their last meeting. in return, seungcheol complains about the company's current project being pushed back even further, meaning seungcheol would have to spend even more time with the coworker he hates. jeonghan coos at him as he whines, offering him little sympathy, too busy teasing him.

it feels, almost, like everything is normal, like there isn't miles upon miles between them. when jeonghan looks down at his phone screen and watches seungcheol shove a huge bite of spaghetti in his mouth, his heart swells with a love stronger than the space between them. jeonghan wishes he could spend the whole night like this, talking to seungcheol.

eventually, however, the night must end. they each pay their server, still refusing to hang up, not wanting to say goodbye just yet.

because of the time difference, what is a dinner date for jeonghan is a lunch date for seungcheol, which means that once they're done eating, seungcheol has to get back to work. at the start, jeonghan had anxiously asked seungcheol if it was okay for him to take several hours off for lunch, but his boyfriend had reassured him that his boss, a family friend, didn't mind as long has he got his work done by the deadlines. jeonghan decides to get a taxi, stomach too full for him to have the energy to walk home. seungcheol waits with him on the phone while he flags a car down.

"have a good day, cheollie," jeonghan says when a taxi starts turning up onto the curb. his next sentence is spoken through a yawn."i had a really nice time."

“jeonghan,” seungcheol breathes out, something soft in his voice. jeonghan looks from the approaching taxi down at the screen.

“yeah?”

“six months.”

jeonghan's heart stutters in his chest.

"six months." he agrees, body tingling at the mere thought of being reunited.  


"i love you."

"i love you, too, seungcheol."

they'd made it this far, what was six months more?.

**Author's Note:**

> hmu on twitter @jeonghannieya


End file.
